We study whether pessimism and optimism about the future by forward looking agents provides a rationale for social security. We first distinguish between an agent's true and pessimistic preferences and then analyze whether this agent's level of saving depends on the pessimism parameter (π) and...

We analyze inefficiency and inequality associated with the use of creative capital to produce a final good. We first study a case in which the creative capital units are perfect substitutes in the production of the final good. We show that the equilibrium outcome is inefficient and that there is...

We analyze the impact of wage taxation on the workplace choices of and the commuting costs borne by individuals in an aggregate economy consisting of an urban and an adjacent rural region. This economy is inhabited by a continuum of individuals who are uniformly distributed with a total mass of...

In this introductory chapter, we contextualize and briefly describe the intellectual contributions of the different chapters in this book. Following this chapter, which comprises Part I of the book, there are eleven chapters and each of these chapters addresses a particular research question or...